Questions & Answers about Это свободное место.
Why use свободное for the English word free instead of бесплатное?
In Russian, свободное means free as in unoccupied, available, or not busy. If you want to say something is free because it costs zero money, you use the word бесплатное. Here, the seat is empty, not a financial giveaway!
Why does the adjective свободное end in -ое?
Russian adjectives must match the gender of the noun they describe. The noun here is место (seat or place), which ends in -о, making it a neuter word. The standard ending for neuter adjectives in the dictionary form is -ое.
Does the word Это end in -о here because it matches the neuter word место?
Not in this case! In a sentence starting with This is a..., the word Это acts as a fixed pointing word. It does not change to match the noun. For example, if you pointed at a masculine noun like a table (стол), you would still say Это свободный стол.
I learned that место means place. Can it also mean seat?
Yes! While место literally translates to place or space, it is the standard Russian word to use when talking about a seat on a train, in a theater, or at a cafe.
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